Up to this point, Damien Emilien’s life path has been somewhat unplanned. He didn’t necessarily set out to pursue a music career. He certainly never thought he’d leave the warmth of his native New Orleans, Louisiana, for a cold, snowy university in the middle of Iowa. And he wasn’t convinced a career as a military musician was right for him. Yet, those unexpected choices shaped Emilien into the professional Navy musician and person he is today.
“I picked the loudest thing that was small, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Growing up, Emilien (’17 music) yearned to be a sports star. The problem? His high school’s sports teams were subpar, so getting noticed by colleges would be an uphill battle. Instead, he followed in his brother’s footsteps.
“I had a brother in the marching band, and I needed something to do for an hour and a half after school, so I joined the marching band as well,” Emilien said. “I picked the loudest thing that was small, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
That small, loud thing was a trumpet, and Emilien proved to be a natural. He found inspiration in the New Orleans jazz scene that surrounded him. Music, he decided, was a worthy career pursuit and he performed trumpet with various bands in the area. In 2009, he was hired to play lead trumpet for the Disneyland Resort All-American College Band. That’s when Emilien knew he was good enough to be a professional musician.
“It let me know I can do anything I put my mind to,” he said.
The road to Ames
Years later, Emilien moved to Ames, Iowa, where his wife was pursuing a Ph.D. at Iowa State. Emilien hadn’t completed his undergraduate studies, so he also enrolled at Iowa State and majored in music performance.
The transition was not easy. At 25 years old, Emilien was a nontraditional student in the middle of Iowa, far from the eclectic New Orleans lifestyle he was accustomed to.
“ISU was such a culture shock for me – demographically, culturally, everything was so different when I moved there. The weather, oh my God, it was so different!” he said. “Finding my own niche that people appreciated in Iowa, that was the biggest thing – just finding my own slice of Iowa that I fit in.”
Emilien found his niche in Iowa State’s music program where he performed in several groups, including the jazz ensembles, Wind Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra. He also did a stint with a recruitment band, called Cyclone Sound, which performed at high schools.
Emilien even brought a bit of New Orleans to Ames when he formed his own band, called the Brassholes Brass Band. The group often performed in Campustown on Welch Avenue near the bell tower and at various other university events.
“Finding my own niche that people appreciated in Iowa, that was the biggest thing – just finding my own slice of Iowa that I fit in.”
“If the crowd got too big, we’d have to stop because it was a danger for traffic,” he said about the concerts on Welch Avenue. “If the crowd would settle back down, we’d start playing. People really enjoyed it.”
Outside of the practice rooms and performance halls, Emilien found that he connected well with other students, who often asked for his advice and guidance.
“When people weren’t comfortable talking to professors, they’d talk to me because I had the most life experience. I was like the unofficial mentor of the trumpet studio and anybody else who wanted to talk about life,” Emilien said.
Emilien also bonded with the music faculty at Iowa State, especially Michael Golemo, University Professor of music and director of bands. Emilien was principal trumpet in the Iowa State Wind Ensemble under Golemo, who said Emilien’s musical prowess and character were exceptional.
“Damien was not only an amazing musician, but he was simply a nice person. He could do it all – classical music, jazz, and he was a good arranger. I believe the ISU Marching Band performed several of his charts. Damien was also a natural leader. He had a great style about him – mature, witty, musical, and a hard worker.”
“When people weren’t comfortable talking to professors, they’d talk to me because I had the most life experience. I was like the unofficial mentor of the trumpet studio and anybody else who wanted to talk about life.”
Following graduation from Iowa State, Emilien returned to New Orleans as a freelance trumpeter. However, he desired a more stable career. A few of his friends were military musicians in the Air Force and Army. Though Emilien had never pictured himself playing military music, he decided to take a closer look.
“It was something I thought of as a last resort. I wanted to be a traveling musician but that is a very hard and a very tiring life,” Emilien said. “I wanted to have something that was more permanent, something where I could start a family, and I could come home to.”
The stability of a military music career led Emilien to enlist in the Navy. Like all Navy recruits, he participated in the standard eight-week basic training before transferring to the Navy School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Here, he learned the processes and protocols of being a Navy musician.
“In the Navy, I am a musician who is a sailor, so anything I do with my job is in support of the band,” Emilien said.
In the Navy
Though he was initially skeptical of a career in the Navy, Emilien is glad he enlisted seven years ago. Currently, he performs with the 39-member Navy Band Great Lakes based in Illinois. Band members participate in 200 to 300 performances each year, including parades, sporting events, and community festivals.
“I didn’t know that this was a career path when I was first starting, and had I known that I would have looked at it differently.”
In addition to their performances, band members hold other positions that support the band. Currently, Emilien is responsible for tour operations, which means he keeps a pulse on the community and books gigs for the band in an 11-state area that encompasses the upper Midwest.
What Emilien enjoys most about his work is performing at high schools and colleges, where he talks with students about a military music career. He even trekked back to Iowa State last year.
“I didn’t know that this was a career path when I was first starting, and had I known that I would have looked at it differently,” he said.
24 notes
Of all the music that Emilien performs in the Navy, the piece that impacts him most is “Taps.”
“As a trumpet player, it’s 24 notes; it’s not particularly difficult. It’s not the hardest thing I’ll do musically, but every time I play it you can see how it affects people, how emotional people get,” Emilien said. “You want to make sure everybody gets their proper sendoff. It’s something I take the most seriously.”
The road that led Emilien to where he is today comprised a few twists and turns, but he’s happy that his path took him through Ames.
“I really appreciated how the professors rallied around a kid from New Orleans who didn’t feel like he belonged. I appreciated the students who came and talked to me and found out about my life and tried to figure why I was there,” Emilien said. “I really appreciated how Iowa State welcomed me and pushed me to be a better person.”